One last political post and then it’s on to my usual diatribes about browser problems, CSS, JavaScript, and the contents of my pockets (right now: chapstick, receipt, four coupons for local eateries, and a small quantity of lint). I just want to get something off my chest.

Disclosure: The candidate I voted for won. This is the first time that’s happened for me. The following doesn’t involve the candidates, however. Also, this is a bit of a ramble.

America (and to a lesser extent, the rest of the world), I’m really sick and tired of extremist/fundamentalist diatribes fueling all our conversations. At some point, it became impossible to simply disagree with someone civilly on any topic. Instead, whether it was about tonight’s pot roast or the national election, if someone disagreed with you they were a damned, dirty, ape. Possibly a communist dirty ape or a nazi dirty ape, depending on what angle you were spinning. It’s become all too common for everyone from newscasters to tweeters (tweet people, what the heck do we call those) to literally go unhinged and accuse anyone they disagree with of being un-American, nonhuman, or worse.

What’s wrong with this picture?

I think the following image sums up part of the problem.

This is all too often how we’ve become accustomed to looking at our country, at an all or nothing us versus them breakdown. True, thanks to the Electoral College this is how our votes our distributed, but it doesn’t represent how America really is. Although the opinions, creeds, faiths, political affiliations, and other qualities of our populace vary in proportions from region to region, there’s no all or nothing location of “all us” and “all them”. For that matter, I don’t think there should be.

Our country’s strength comes from it’s plurality, as in the state of being plural, as in consisting of or containing more than one kind of class. It’s been there from the beginning, and it’s not some sort of outdated quaint concept in the 21st century. Yet there’s always the vocal minority that champion intolerance against “them”. Them is a pretty big category of bad guys, including but not limited to: Republicans, Democrats, Socialists, Rich, Poor, White, Black, Gay, Religious, Irreligious, Comedians, Foreigners, etc.

As in, all of us.

Look, I don’t agree with a lot of people on a lot of topics. But the best part about this country is that it is an open forum for all people of all stripes (all of those ‘bad guys’ listed above and more) can co-exist, be publicly proud of their various qualities and engage in open discussion about who they are and what they think. Sure, this means we’ll argue. But we’re stronger from the process, and there’s nothing un-American about the guy with the other view. Period. If there wasn’t a discussion in the first place, we wouldn’t be in America.

America isn’t a collection of blue and red states. It’s a collection of purple ones. Take a look at this:

Taking away geographic reference or the all-or-none colorization of the Electoral College, this is what America is really like. It’s a big, confused mix of different people of different views. And this year more of those people than ever before got involved in our free discussion and voted. Who cares who won?

So stop being intolerant. Stop assuming everyone else is horrible because they don’t agree with you. Because our country is founded on disagreements. Now shut up and eat some apple pie (which technically is English, not American, but I don’t think they’ll mind).